A combination of South American heritage and entrepreneurial drive saw Jenny Carrasco and Justin Hickey investigate producing a more sustainable bottled water. The result is Pure Mist.

While Carrasco’s career as a dental nurse and Hickey as an IT entrepreneur do not seem the most obvious paths to own a bottled water business, winning gold and bronze medals on an international level barely a year into operations should put any doubts to bed.

It was their dissatisfaction with bottled water that drove the pair to consider making their own, which is where Carrasco’s South American heritage came into play.

“I was born in Chile in the Atacama Desert, so it was very dry. The Chilean people have developed a way of collecting water from mist,” Carrasco said.

The Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world, outranking the polar deserts as well. It is also the world’s largest fog desert because the Andes’ dramatic elevation and proximity to the Pacific Ocean create ideal fog forming conditions.